A tale of . . . depression, isolation and loneliness

James Clancy, from Glenade, Co Leitrim, talks wistfully of a time when neighbours used to "céilí" or visit each other's homes in the evening for a game of cards and a chat.

“Television ruined that,” said the 64-year-old bachelor who lives alone and dreads the long winter evenings.

James has battled depression for many years and a series of family tragedies made it harder for him to cope.

“I got a lot of knocks. Eleven years ago I lost both parents within two months.” One of James’s sisters has been in a coma for over 18 months following a traffic accident.

James lived with his elderly parents and like many single men in the county, he assumed the role of carer. Many women of his generation emigrated or found work in cities, while a son usually stayed at home to work on the family farm.

“Indeed we have found in some cases that the availability of the carers’ allowance has resulted in some of these men being pushed out of the carer’s role,” says Pat Love.

James is now working on a community employment scheme run by the North Leitrim Men’s Group and says he enjoys the work and the camaraderie. “It’s nice to be out working with the lads.”

The family farm has now been sold. “We had only three cows but that was what I worked at mostly,” says James, who adds that when going through bad periods of depression he has “taken to the bed”. Alcohol, he says, has not helped him during low times.

James had a bathroom but no central heating, and a leak on a flat roof extension meant that water was pouring into his kitchen. He does not drive and has no transport. “A neighbour might drop in sometimes, but the winter evenings are very long,” he says.

The future seems brighter now for James, however, who was recently given the keys of a new local authority house.

Love says that it is often difficult to convince men living in unsuitable accommodation to leave a house which may be their last link with family, even where the farm land has been sold.

“Leitrim County Council is very helpful but we have found that if the council is willing to put in a bathroom the householder still has to apply for planning permission

for a septic tank and, of course, grants

won’t cover such things as architects’

fees.”

Noel Ferguson (49),from Kiltclogher, spent several years working in England in a variety of jobs such as factory work and laying duct for cable television.

He believes that if he had remained in England he would have ended up homeless because of his drinking.

“I am off the drink for six years now. I never suffered from depression when I was in England but maybe that’s because I was such a heavy drinker – I didn’t feel it.”

Since returning to live in the family home with his elderly mother and a sister, Noel is “happy to be off the drink”.

In England he lived alone in flats and loneliness was one of the factors which drove him to the pub. Now he keeps busy pottering around the farm, growing vegetables and working on the Community Employment Scheme run by Pat Love.

Like most of the participants, he is single. “I did have a few relationships but they broke down thanks to my drinking.”

Like James, he has in the past suffered from bouts of depression. And the deaths of four siblings have had a huge impact. “I have taken to the bed for weeks and there were times when I did not want to see anyone or talk to anyone.”